


The Domestic Front

by OtherCat



Series: Perfect Mind [5]
Category: Chrno Crusade
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2010-12-10
Updated: 2013-01-30
Packaged: 2017-11-27 09:46:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/660515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OtherCat/pseuds/OtherCat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mrs. Jenkins wasn't quite sure about getting a job at the Embassy, even if friends from her Church were working there. But she needed a job and a place to live that wasn't under her mother-in-law's roof, and the Embassy was hiring. </p><p>An ordinary woman's adventures working for Joshua Christopher, a young man who seemed more alien some days than the demons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Position

Emma Jenkins tried not to fidget as she waited in the lobby for her interview. She'd hadn't been waiting long, but the longer she stayed, the more she worried that she was making a mistake. _How in the world did I let Andrea and Sandy talk me into this_? She wondered. She smiled ruefully. _Because I need the job, that's why._

Emma hadn't known what to think when she had heard that Andrea's husband and Sandy's sister-in-law--both good Christian people--had gotten jobs at the Lemurian Embassy. It had gotten them into some trouble with people at their church, but Minister Brown put a stop to the gossip, pointing out that Bill and Pearl were in a good position to bring the Word to those who might need to hear it. It helped of course that both Bill and Pearl had been members in good standing before taking the jobs.

With her husband Henry gone, she needed a job now more than ever--and the Lemurian Embassy paid twice as much as she could have gotten working as a cleaning woman in a hotel, which is what she'd been doing previously. She'd heard about the job opening from Andrea, who'd heard it from Bill; Joshua Christopher, the aide to the "Director of the Embassies" was looking for a housekeeper. "It's a live-in position, for 'security reasons,'" Bill had said. "I thought you might like that--some extra breathing room, and you can get away from that old ba--I mean Gramma Jenkins."

"I don't have any trouble getting along with my mother-in-law," Emma had said.

"It's her that don't get along with _you_ ," Andrea had shot back. "And you know it, too."

So she let herself be talked into applying, and now she was waiting for her interview. The lobby was an open area with a marble floor, and a marble-topped receptionist's desk staffed by a white girl, and a creature that had looked almost human until he'd smiled, revealing sharp fangs. Emma managed not to act too startled at seeing her first demon, and found herself hoping that she hadn't offended him. Behind the receptionist's desk, the cross inside of a hexagon symbol from the Lemurian flag was painted in green and gold. She noticed that the hexagon pattern was worked the stained glass from the windows, and the tiles in the walls also seem to have a pattern made up of hexagons. 

After a quarter of an hour, a very odd looking young white woman approached. She was dressed in slacks, a men's dress shirt and a lab coat, and what Emma first thought was some kind of hair ornament turned out to be a pair of cat ears. A flicker of movement down by the lab coat's hem revealed that the woman--the demon--also had a cat's tail.

"Hello, Mrs. Jenkins?" The demon asked with a grin. "My name's Shader, I'm sort of Joshua's doctor--I'm only a technician though, so I can't call myself a physician. I'll be conducting your interview--please follow me?" The demon turned and walked toward the elevators. Emma followed, after a moment's hesitation. "The job involves cooking and cleaning, plus errands, shopping, and managing the household budget--which won't be too hard, because right now it's just me and Joshua," the demon said cheerfully.

"I--see," Emma said, though she didn't really. She'd be managing the household budget? And what was the relationship between Mr. Christopher and this demon, that they apparently kept house  together? Emma very firmly decided the latter wasn't any of her business. "What sort of hours  would I be expected to keep?" 

The elevator opened up as they approached, and two men in business suits accompanied by a demoness wearing a skirt and not much else exited. Emma couldn't stop herself from staring. Shader hit the button for the fourteenth floor before answering. "Eight hour shifts Monday through Friday divided up any way you see fit. Joshua likes to get up early, so figure on a four hour shift early in the morning, and a second shift in the evening." Shader went on to describe pay and benefits as they reached the fourteenth floor and exited the elevator. "Bill told you that this was a live-in position, right?"

"Yes, he did," Emma said. The hallway was lit by odd, six sided sconces, and there were framed pictures on the wall, landscapes that looked like nothing on Earth, strange underwater scenes, and perfectly ordinary still life paintings and portraits.  "He said something about security."

"Yeah," Shader said. "Joshua gets an extra layer because he's the Queen's brother. Since he's supposed to be interacting with humans, he's getting a mostly-human staff--" The demon rambled on to describe how Mr. Christopher apparently didn't think he needed a housekeeper, and certain details that Emma wasn't sure she wanted to know about her prospective employer. 

He had apparently suffered some injury to his brain and as a result, sometimes seemed as if he wasn't paying attention, ("he isn't simple-minded, there is _nothing_ wrong with his intellect. He scores above average just like his sister"), and he got sick very easily, ("he's basically the worst patient ever because he pretends to be fine right up to the point where he falls over. I know nursing isn't in the job description and he's gotten _lots_ better but you _have_ to watch out because of his lungs--")

They reached what turned out to be the security station for this floor, and Shader took Emma into a small room with a strange device sitting on a desk in the corner. It consisted of an odd hexagonal plaque set on a stand, attached to what looked like a sort of flattened typewriter keyboard. Shader said something in a language Emma didn't know, and the plaque flickered, and a white square with the words _Employee Assessment_ at the very top, and a number of questions below it. "Can you you type?" The demon asked. Emma nodded. It had been a long time since she'd learned to use a typewriter, but she could type. She stared at the strange looking device, too nervous to really read the questions. "Good. Just have a seat, and answer the questions. There's some paper and pencils in the drawer to your right for the math questions. There's no set time, so go at your own pace, I'll be back when you're done, and take you on the tour, okay?"

"Yes Miss Shader," Emma said, hesitating a bit over the odd sounding name.

The demon's ears swiveled forward. "Just Shader," the demon said, and headed out the door.

Emma turned to the odd looking device, and very gingerly sat down in front of it. A little gray box hovered off to the left, giving directions for moving a little blue hexagon around that appeared on the plaque to select the answers.  Reaching for the paper and pencils, she began to work on the math problems. "I wonder why everything is six-sided around here?" She wondered aloud as the plaque flashed and a new set of questions appeared. It seemed very odd.

**Simple answer: Legion cells are six-sided. Default structures are therefore six sided,** an oddly flat sounding voice said.

Emma started, looking around the room. "Who's there?"

**Define "there,"** the voice said. **This room is unoccupied except for yourself. The security station outside is occupied by the Sinner Shader and Baronet Dahak,** the voice continued.

"What?" Emma asked, wondering if this was some sort of joke at her expense as the voice repeated itself. "Who is speaking?" She asked suspiciously.

**'Who' is not speaking,** the voice said. **Workstation 76321 is speaking. Would you like to continue your assessment? The next section is social-ethical in nature, and requires written or verbal responses.**

Still wondering if this were some sort of joke, she said, "Continue." The device asked questions and she answered them as best she could. After she finished the assessment, Shader took her on the promised tour, and saw her to the door.

"We'll let you know in a couple of days whether you get the job," Shader said with a cheerful, friendly smile. "Thanks for coming, Mrs. Jenkins!"

"You're welcome," Emma said, feeling rather dazed. The dazed feeling continued for quite some time, she barely noticed the rude things the protesters outside the gates of the Embassy said, and she almost forgot to stop by the deli on the way home. When she did get home, Gramma Jenkins made a point of "going to Bible study," and making her disapproval very clear as she bustled out the door.

Emma sighed, and put the sandwiches from the deli in the icebox before checking on her son. Jacob was lying on his stomach in the little living room, drawing on a piece of cardboard. He sat up as she entered. "Hi Mama!" He said. "I drew you a picture."

Emma smiled. "Let's see it then."

It was Bill who told her she'd been hired, giving her a card printed with odd lily-like flowers on the front. *Welcome aboard,* the note printed within said. _I look forward to working with you._ The note went on to tell her when she was starting work, and what paperwork she needed to fill out. It was signed, "Joshua Christopher, Pursuer-apprentice, aide to Elder-Physician Gilgamesh, Director of Embassies."

"'Pursuer'?" Emma asked, somewhat bewildered.

"As near as I can tell, it's what they call their cops," Bill said. "Morag says it's not exactly like being a cop, but I figure it's close enough for horse shoes."

"Morag?"

Bill grinned. "My boss, head of maintenance and domestic. Looks like some kind of rat with wings and horns most of the time. I'll be introducing you to her right off, so that's a warning."

"A-a rat?" Emma asked nervously.

"Demons are odd looking folks, even when they look mostly human," was Bill's reply. 

Bill and Pearl both helped Emma pack her and her son's things, and Bill drove her to the Embassy building. She gratefully accepted Pearl's offer to watch Jacob, and nervously followed Bill to Morag's office.

It was extremely disconcerting to hear shouting from behind the door. "Food waste goes in green bins! It does not go in blue or white! If I find out you put food in wrong bin, you will be scrubbing the green bins, and sorting the blue and white for a month! Now go, I have important orientation!"

Two young men, both white, hurriedly exited from the office. They were followed by a small, gray haired woman with ears like thin pink sails set high on her head, and a scaly rat tail. Pairs of odd looking red beads were embedded in her cheeks, and above her brows. She was wearing an odd looking skirt that looked like it was wrapped around her waist and tied. The hem brushed the tops of bare, clawed feet. She was also wearing a sort of tunic top with a square neckline, and short sleeves. The little woman glared at the retreating backs of the two young men before sparing Emma and Bill a glance. The woman--Morag--smiled without showing her teeth. "Bill, and Missus Jenkins--who I am very pleased to meet--I am Morag Maintenance and Domestic Primary."

"I-likewise, Miss--"

"Primary," Morag interjected. "By itself, before or after name. If we are friends, I am Morag." The pink sails waved a bit. "I think we will be friends, unless you are very scared of rats or demons."

"I'm not afraid of rats," Emma said with an attempt at bravery.

"Of course not," Morag said with very mild sarcasm. To Bill she said, "The situation with the filter in the water garden is continuing, please step on Doon's tail for me."

"Okay," Bill said, and gave Emma a reassuring grin before heading down the hall in the opposite direction of the two men.

"Now Missus Jenkins, if you'll follow me?" The demon proceeded to give her a tour of the entire building, lecturing Emma on her duties as she did.

It turned out to be much more complicated that Emma thought it would be, even with Shader's descriptions of her duties. In addition to the ones Shader mentioned, she'd also be in charge of acting as an 'interface' which sounded like a fancy word for 'receptionist' and keeping track of his "social calendar." She had similar duties involving Shader, though apparently she was also supposed to give Shader any "maintenance assignments" that came up. She very tentatively asked about it, and Morag gave her an amused look.

"You are first circle domestic, like me. But only of Lord Joshua's household. To me you are Secondary. This is important position--please learn quickly! The Sinner is a bad influence--though she perhaps means well."

"The Sinner?" She remembered that the strange "workstation" had called the cat demon girl that. She wondered what a demon might have done that other demons would call her a "sinner." 

"Technician Shader," Morag said with a bitter sort of twist to her mouth. "I am not to say anything of her deeds, because she has passed a gauntlet, and she is as penitent as it is possible for her to be--but we are still angry, and forgiveness will be long in coming for her." Her expression became softer. "Do not worry, she is a Technician, though sometimes she has less sense than a small child. Now I will show you operation of workstation, and then your rooms, and Lord Joshua's quarters--he is on short training mission, so you will be able to arrange things to your liking."

Emma wasn't quite sure what Morag meant about "arrange things to your liking," or why Morag seemed to think that someone being a "technician" was supposed to be reassuring, but she nodded anyway. After the orientation and tour, she returned to the little apartment she'd been assigned, which were next to Mister (or should it be Lord? She wasn't quite sure which she should be using, and didn't want to offend her new employer) Christopher's quarters.

Her apartment had two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen with appliances she was just a little afraid of, they were so sleek and alien looking. There were also perfectly ordinary table and silverware, whisks, pots and pans and other utensils. The icebox and pantry were stocked with food, with a little note from Bill saying the groceries were on him. The dining room was separated from the living room by a curtain of what looked like thin glass rods. The living room had expensive, new looking furniture, and a radio with a record player built into the cabinet. It was all so overwhelming that all she could do was stare at it all for a moment.

A noise like a bell made her jump. "Call from Pearl Wilson for you, Secondary Jenkins," a calm, oddly sexless voice said.

"W-what is it?" Emma said.

"Em, Primary Morag done with you yet?" Pearl asked with a note of laughter in her voice.

"For now, I think she said something about 'tutorials' before she let me go," Emma said.

"Think you can make it to the cafeteria? Some folks I want you to meet."

"I think so, how's Jacob?"

"Hard to distract, as usual. I'll see if Bill's off yet, and he can meet you half way." 

What it turned out to be was a sort of welcome party. Jacob was playing with a handful of other children in an open space made by moving the other tables in the cafeteria off to the side and a pot luck dinner had been laid out on a table. Most of the people gathered at the table in the corner of the cafeteria were human enough, but a handful were demons. Introductions went around, and Emma did her best to keep names and faces together, but it was a bit of a blur. "I know it seems like a lot," Bill said, "but a lot of people wanted to meet you."

"Me?" Emma asked.

Bill grinned. "Yeah, you. Don't get too big a head about it, just about everybody gets a welcome party, if they got the job from friends or relatives or something."

Over the next few days a routine developed. In the morning, Emma would drop Jacob off at the "day school" the Embassy provided for its employees. Then she would do a walkthrough of Mr. Christopher's apartment, straightening up where necessary. (Shader was not a very neat person.) After cleaning up the apartment, she returned to her own apartment and took tutorials until lunch time, which she usually spent with Pearl and her friends in the cafeteria. After lunch, Emma returned to her apartment, and took more tutorials, then went to see if Shader needed anything.

Usually Shader said she didn't, but sometimes Emma found herself going on errands to the Embassy library to pick up ancient leather bound books, stacks of odd, multi-colored disks, or delivering a message to someone in another department. Shader was always polite, if distracted--she seemed to be working very hard on something. Emma would often find the demon muttering under her breath while she tapped on the keys of her workstation, or watching odd patterns of flickering light that hovered in the air.

Emma wasn't quite sure of what to make of the young-appearing woman who the other demons called a "Sinner." Shader didn't seem especially wicked, or anything like what the word "demon" implied. What crimes had she committed? What could a demon have done, that other demons referred to her as a "sinner?"

Evenings were usually spent going through more tutorials, helping Jake with his homework, and visiting Pearl or Bill as they finished their shifts. She brought most of her worries and concerns to her friends, and too her relief, they were much more informative than Morag had been. She very tentatively asked Bill about Shader and he'd given her a thoughtful look. "Tech Shader--you might say she's an ex-con, if you know what I mean. 'Fell in with a bad crowd,' from what I've heard. Her and her gang were involved in that mess in San Francisco last year. Right now..." he hesitated. "She's working on a cure for Crusader."

"I--Crusader?" Emma felt frozen for a moment, her mind going blank with fear. The outbreaks on the East Coast hadn't been nearly as severe as it had been in California--but people had gone missing. People had died--and she didn't want to think about it, or remember. "She was part of what happened in San Francisco?" She asked, reaching for the question that didn't make her want to run from the room screaming.

"She and her gang were trying to do something--don't quite understand what," Bill said. "Something to do with the 'demon-world' that was off the coast of New Jersey until it got moved to Antarctica and destroyed." He smiled a little. "Isn't it a strange world where that isn't something out of dime novel?"

"Why isn't she in prison?" Emma asked.

"They don't really have prisons the way we do," Pearl said. "Don't know much beyond that though, except that she--" Pearl frowned slightly. "'Belongs with' Mister Christopher. And he's responsible for her."

"'Belongs with?'" Emma asked. "What does that mean?"

Pearl shook her head. "You ask a demon that, and they'll give you a different answer every time. Pretty much means Tech Shader works for Mister Christopher, though."

Emma frowned, and was about to ask another question, when her thoughts were scattered by the oddest sound she'd ever heard. It started out low and deep, something that was more vibration than sound--then it rose up impossibly high, a thin crystalline sound that seemed to break into fragments and fall back down into a peculiar harmony. "What on earth _is_ that?" Emma said. It almost sounded like some kind of music--but it was so strange she couldn't make a bit of sense of what she was hearing.

"Day shifts over, so the demons that just got off duty are in the cafeteria," Bill explained.  "They sing like that sometimes."

"That's _singing_?" Emma asked. She couldn't imagine how any living thing could make sounds like that.

Bill laughed. "Sound like cicadas or frogs or something, don't they?"

"They sound like that all together and then throw in some creaky hinges and a big drum," Emma said.   

She didn't meet Mister Christopher until Friday morning. She was about to tackle Shader's laundry when there was a commotion at the front door. She stopped trying to remember which switch did what on the washing machine, and headed into the living room, where she found a blue haired demon and a white boy on crutches standing just outside the doorway. "Bear in mind apprentice," The demon was saying. "That you do _not yet_ have the endurance or skill to avoid pain. If you are injured, you _will_ tell me instantly, is that understood?" The demon growled angrily to the boy who stood with hunched shoulders as he stared at the floor.

"A sprained ankle isn't a serious injury, Viscount," the boy muttered, not meeting the demon's gaze. "For human _or_ demon."

"I somehow fail to be convinced by your argument, apprentice. Isn't there a human poem in which a thrown horse shoe results in the loss of a kingdom?" The boy muttered something under his breath that resulted in the demon aiming a swat toward the boy's head.

The boy flushed and ducked the blow. "Sorry preceptor," the boy said quickly.

The demon grunted, then took note of Emma's presence. The demon turned, and nodded his head. "You must be Emma Jenkins," The demon said.

"I-yes," Emma said. "Mister--?"

"Viscount Ardath, Mister Christopher's preceptor. The boy was injured during a training exercise. Astral healing is unnecessary--please inform the Sinner. I leave him to you, Secondary." After this short speech, Viscount Ardath turned to back to the boy. "You will write a report and review files thirty to thirty six. Report to me next Wednesday."

"Yes preceptor," the boy said with a slight bow. The demon nodded, and left, the door clicking shut behind him. For a moment, the boy just stood there, looking at her, before ducking his head again. "Well, this is awkward," he said with a very shy smile. "Hello Missus Jenkins, I'm Joshua Christopher--and I guess I'm your employer."

"I--pleased to meet you," Emma said, floundering slightly. She was surprised by how young Mr. Christopher was. She'd heard him speak on the radio a few times, but he'd sounded older, and she didn't think she'd heard anyone ever say how old he was. She hadn't even seen a picture in the newspaper--the pictures in the papers were all of mostly human, mostly middle-aged or older looking demons. "Can I get you anything, Mister Christopher?" 

"Coffee will be fine, Missus Jenkins," Joshua said, and crutched over to the nearest chair. "No cream or sugar please." He sat down, set the crutches aside, and put his feet up on an ottoman.

"I'll also see about getting you an ice pack, sir," Emma said, mentally giving herself a pinch. As quick as anything, Mister Christopher's entire demeanor had changed, turning from sulky boy to distant and polite young man. "And something for the pain."

"Thank you, Missus Jenkins." There was a momentary flicker of _shy boy_ on Joshua's face, but only a flicker. 

So she went back into the kitchen and started the coffee, then found the medicine and ice pack. She brought him a glass of water to wash down the pills--which turned out to be unnecessary because they were chewable--then went back to call Shader and let her know that Mister Christopher was home, and injured. The coffee was done by the time Shader barrelled into the apartment, snagging the coffee cup right of Emma's hands as she came out of the kitchen. Emma squeaked, startled by the quick movement.

Joshua made a choked noise that sounded like an attempt to not laugh. "Shader! That was my coffee!"

"Loser's weepers," Shader said, and gulped it all down. "Thank you, Missus Jenkins." She handed the cup back with a feline grin. "Could you bring two more cups, with sandwiches?"

"Of course, right away," Emma said, and retreated to the kitchen.


	2. Conversations and Questions

Early Monday morning, Emma let herself into the apartment to make breakfast for Shader and Mr. Christopher, after dropping Jake off at the day school. She could hear Mr. Christopher's voice coming from another room, but couldn't make out the words. She opened the curtains before heading into the kitchen. She had decided on pancakes and sausage with biscuits and had just finished making the batter when there was a strange crackling hiss-- _bang!_ followed by a "Dammit!" from down the hall.

Emma set her spoon aside and hurried to see what had happened. She started down the short hallway that led to Joshua and Shader's rooms, the study, and a room that Shader had referred to as a "work room" that Emma wasn't to go into. When she reached the door, she found out why, or at least part of a reason; her employer was practicing some kind of hoodoo.

The door to the "work room" was open halfway, and a haze of smoke that smelled a little like burning matches, and a little like flowers or wood drifted out. The room was about the size of the study, with no windows. A low table stood against one wall, with candles brazier and a long black sword placed on it. Joshua knelt on the cement floor in front of the table, within some sort of design drawn in chalk, holding his arm as if it hurt. Shader knelt next to him, with an arm around his shoulders. Emma would have thought 'devil worship' if not for what Joshua said next, and the tone he used--the exact tone her uncle would have used while complaining that he couldn't figure out why a car wasn't working.  "Dammit," the boy said again, glaring at the table. "What did I do wrong this time?"

"Trying to do this without a spotter, to start with," Shader said. "Trying to do it when you also have a busted ankle would be another reason."

"But I don't have this kind of problem with Wakinyan--and I could use the Sword before," the boy said with an aggravated glower at the table.

"It could be your signature changed enough that it isn't recognizing you at the moment."

Emma wondered what Shader meant by "signature"--and what the boy would need a 'spotter' for. Not wanting to spy or eavesdrop, Emma said, "Mister Christopher, are you all right?"

The boy looked up, with a startled look in his eyes. "I'm fine, Missus Jenkins. I just had a little accident."

"If you say so, Mister Christopher," Emma said. She couldn't keep the doubtful tone out of her voice. "I'm making breakfast now, I'll call you when it's ready."

The boy smiled. "Thank you, Missus Jenkins. I'm sorry if you were startled." He stood up with Shader's help, and made a little half-bow.

"It's all right," Emma said, not quite sure what to do about that bow--how was she expected to respond to it? She settled on a brief nod, and retreated to the kitchen to continue making breakfast. When it was ready, she set the table, and let Mr. Christopher and Shader know using the apartment's intercom.

Shader came into the little dining area adjacent to the kitchen first. "Morning," she said, and sort of flopped into the nearest chair with a barely stifled yawn. "Could I have orange juice, please? If I have another cup of coffee, Josh'll kill me," She said when Emma came over to fill Shader's coffee cup.

"I'm more likely to do that because you didn't tell Missus Jenkins that you're rationed," Mr. Christopher said as he made his own appearance. "You've been pulling one too many all-nighters." He smiled as he sat down, and set his crutches to one side. "She isn't to have coffee for the next few days, so she'll actually get some sleep." Shader huffed, and looked exasperated at that, but didn't argue. As if she were entirely used to being bossed by a boy just a bit over sixteen years of age. Mr. Christopher smirked, and put two pancakes on his plate, then drowned them with syrup. He nudged his own cup, and Emma filled it.

 "All right," Emma said, and headed back into the kitchen for a pitcher of orange juice. "Is there anything else I can do?" She asked as she poured a glass for both Shader and Mr. Christopher. If they were going to pretend that nothing had happened a few minutes ago, then so would she.  

"There are some data files in the study," Shader said. "Could you deliver them to Medical Technician Vo? And pick up a package from the mail room?"

Emma nodded. "Just let me clean up the kitchen a bit," she said.

Once she cleaned up the kitchen she went to the study. As she passed the "work room" she thought she saw someone standing in the room--a strange looking man with dark skin and white hair. She let out a startled little scream, wobbling back and colliding with the wall--but there was no one there, and the door was shut. "Missus Jenkins--Are you okay?" Mr. Christopher and Shader said in uneven chorus as they came up.

"I--I--" She said, and took a deep breath. "I think I just scared myself a bit, Mr. Christopher, Shader. I must still be a bit nervous because of that noise I heard earlier." She felt like a fool, being scared like that--embarrassed and a little angry. She straightened up, and started to excuse herself, but the boy interrupted.

"I left the door open, to air the room out a bit," the boy said. "Did you close it?"

Emma shook her head. "The door, I thought it was open, but when I looked again it was closed, but I didn't touch the door."

"What made you scream?" the boy asked.

"I thought I saw someone, just for a second," Emma said. "I didn't expect anyone to be there, and it startled me."

The look on the boy's face was surprised, and oddly annoyed. He gave the closed door a dark look, muttered something under his breath in a language that wasn't English, then shook his head. "I'm sorry that happened, Missus Jenkins. Please continue on your errands, I'd like to speak with you when you return."

"Of course," Emma said. She excused herself and went to the work room for the datafiles. She felt a little nervous walking past the work room door on her way out, but nothing strange happened.

When she returned to the apartment, she found Mr. Christopher sitting on the couch, reading a pulp with a slightly racy cover. He looked up as she entered the room and set the magazine cover side down on the coffee table. "I'm sorry about the scare you had earlier, Missus Jenkins," the boy said. "Have a seat?" He gestured toward a chair near the couch.

"I didn't mean to make a scene earlier," Emma said, and sat down. She felt somewhat nervous, because of what had happened that morning, and because she wasn't sure what this "talk" was supposed to be about. She didn't think it was a preamble to a dismissal, but she really couldn't be certain it wasn't.  

"You didn't. You handled it a lot better than a lot of people would have--especially after hearing an explosion coming from that room." The boy grinned. "I can't promise that something like that might not happen again though--so I wanted to talk to you about it." 

Did that mean he'd be trying to blow himself up again? "I'm not sure I understand, Mister Christopher," Emma said cautiously. "What you do isn't any of my business." Unless he blew up the whole building, that is.

The boy smiled slightly. "It is, actually. You're organizing my 'household' such as it is. I wanted to assure you that I'm not involved in 'devil worship' or anything like that, though I am learning to be a 'mojo-worker.'"

"Most would say there isn't much of a difference," Emma said.

"If you thought that, you probably wouldn't have applied for a job here, even if members of your church were working here," the boy pointed out. "What I'm saying is, if you have questions about what I'm doing and why, please feel free to ask me--or Lord Ardath, or Shader and the Domestic Primary about it. I don't want you to feel as if this weren't a safe place to work."

She might have automatically assured him that she wasn't bothered by anything, but Emma found she couldn't quite manage to phrase something polite and meaningless. At least not in the face of a young man who was being so earnest and serious. "What about whatever happened this morning? That didn't look very safe, whatever that was."

"Heh. It was safe actually, the room is very well protected, and I just got knocked off my feet," Mr. Christopher said. "Of course, it didn't help that I already hurt my ankle."

"Is it," Emma hesitated. "Is it all right if I ask what you were doing?"

 "Oh, that's kind of complicated--because I wasn't quite sure myself." The boy's tone was slightly whimsical, and he grinned at Emma's reaction. "I--used to have a lot of power," he said in a more serious tone. "I could heal people, though it made me more ill when I used the gift. I had another power but--" Joshua's hand for some reason went up to touch the side of his head--and then gesture turned into a hair-combing motion. "I lost that power around the same time I lost my healing ability."

 "And you're trying to get them back?" Emma asked, caught up enough in the story that she could feel curious without feeling equally cautious.

 Joshua laughed, a startled sound that was nearly a giggle. "No. I don't want them back. Miracles aren't comfortable things to bear. As for the other power--that wasn't mine either."

 Emma frowned at that strange distinction Joshua made, but didn't pry. "What are you doing then?"

 "Eh." Joshua ducked his head, looking almost embarrassed. "I'm trying to find my own power--my own spiritual strength. I know just enough 'hoodoo' to have things blow up in my face, but I have good teachers, so hopefully that will be less of a problem in the future." 

 "I see," Emma said. "Well, I suppose as long as I'm not startled by something blowing up when I'm taking something out of the oven, I suppose that'll be fine with me."

 Joshua grinned. "Thank you, Missus Jenkins." He took up his crutches and stood. "I should let you get back to your work."

 Emma stood up quickly. "I should." She remembered that there was ironing that she needed to do, both for Mr. Christopher and Shader, but also her own laundry. "Thank you for speaking to me," she said.

 The young man nodded, and stooped briefly to pick up his magazine before sitting back down. "Don't mention it," he said with a grin, and went back to reading.

 It was around noon, and she was back at her own apartment when the intercom chimed. Emma looked up from the clothes she'd been folding. "This is Emma, what is it?" She asked. 

 "Secondary, this is Anna, at the day school," a voice said. Emma recognized the voice of one of the teachers.  "Jacob has a headache, and became nauseous after lunch. Could you come get him?"

 Emma was already heading for the door. "I'll be there in a few minutes," she said as she hurried out of her apartment.

 She met Anna just outside the main office of the day school. The younger woman looked worried and upset. "Please come with me," she said and led Emma to the school's infirmary.

 The lights within the little room were dim, and Jacob was lying in one of the beds. "Hi Momma," he said, squinting up at her. "My head hurts."

 "I know, Jake," Emma said. "Do you think you can get up?"

 "Do I haveta?" He sounded so put upon and miserable. Emma tried on a smile and brushed her hand over Jake's frizzy-curly hair.

 "We have a wheelchair you can borrow, Mrs. Jenkins," Anna said. "Has he had headaches like this before?"

 "Every once in a while," Emma said, feeling nervous and uncomfortable at the questions. "And thank you." Anna had a look on her face like she wanted to ask more questions, but got out the wheelchair instead, and helped Emma get Jake into it. Emma thanked Anna again, and pushed the wheelchair back to the apartment.

 Jake seemed to be feeling a little better by the time they got back to the apartment, at least, he got out of the chair, and totter over to the couch to lie down. Emma closed the curtains, so he'd be more comfortable. "Can I have some juice, Momma?" Jake asked plaintively.

 "I'll go get you some," Emma said. She went into the kitchen to get him some juice and was bringing it over over when the intercom chimed again. "This is Emma."

 "Is Jacob all right?" Shader asked. "I got a message from the day school."

 Emma frowned. "Jacob's fine, but may I ask why you got a message from the school?"

 "Um. For the much same reason I'd get a message if Joshua got sick, Missus Jenkins--or you, for that matter. I can refer you to a human doctor if you want one." 

 "I...don't think that would be necessary just now," Emma said. Or me? "But maybe--could you prescribe something for his headache? Aspirin--doesn't seem to help them."

 "I'd like to see him myself before I make any prescriptions. Do you mind if I do a house-call?" Shader asked.

 "I don't mind," Emma said, feeling a little confused by--but grateful for--the offer. 

 "I'll be right down then," Shader said cheerfully, and disconnected.

 Emma poured Jacob some fruit juice, and carried the glass back into the living room. Jacob sat up, and took the glass from her. "Who was that, Momma?"

 "That was Shader, honey, one of the people I work for," Emma said. "She's sort of a doctor, she wants to give you a checkup so she can give you something for your headache."

 "Shader's a funny-sounding name," Jake said with a frown. "Is she a demon?"

 Emma nodded. "She doesn't seem very scary though. She has cat ears and a tail, and wears spectacles."

 Shader arrived within five minutes of the call, carrying a heavy looking black satchel. "Hello again," she said with a smile as she entered the apartment. "How is he?"

 "About the same," Emma said, and followed Shader as she went over to the couch. Shader set her satchel down by the couch, and sat on the floor.

 "Hello there Mister Jenkins," Shader said. "do you mind if I call you 'Jake?'"

 "Okay," Jacob said with a shy look.

 "Thank you Jake. You can call me Shader. I'm going to be asking you a lot of questions about your headache, and then I might do a few tests. Then I'm going to talk to your mom, is that okay?"

 Jacob nodded shyly, and answered Shader's questions about the headaches. Then she took out a strange device that came with little adhesive patches she stuck to Jacob's temple. The device bleeped and blipped as she explained what she was doing, and answered Jacob's--and Emma's--questions. When she was done with her test she took off the patches and tucked the device back into her satchel. "I'm going to write up a prescription," she said, and stood up, scribbling one a pad of paper. "There's a drugstore near here--if the druggist gives you any trouble let me know and I'll get it filled for you." She handed the prescription to Emma, who took it. "I'll look over the test results and give you a report."

 "Thank you," Emma said.

 "You're welcome," Shader said with a smile. She picked up her bag and started for the door.

 Emma followed her to the door. "Shader--" She began, and fell silent as Shader paused and turned. "Could you explain what you meant, earlier? About getting the message that Jacob was sick."

 Shader's head tilted. "I'm sort of like Joshua's doctor, right? I'm also the doctor of anyone working directly for Joshua, and that would include a housekeeper." She grinned. "You don't even have to pay me. It was in the paperwork you filled out, though you might have missed it." With that, Shader let herself out of the apartment.

 Emma thought about it, and decided to review her copy of the paperwork, to see if there was any other unexpected thing hiding in the words. 

 Did you find out what's wrong?" Pearl asked Emma at lunch the next day. "Jake's been getting those headaches for a while now, hasn't he?"

 "Yes. For a while I thought it was because--" Emma hesitated, feeling reluctant to talk about her husband. "I thought it might be something to do with what happened to Henry, but Technician Shader said that migraines aren't one of the symptoms of Crusader," Emma said. Shader had also mentioned that Jake had inherited Emma's immunity to the spell--or rather, the effects of the spell.

 "Well, that's a relief," Pearl said softly.

 "She also said that it wasn't because of anything like a tumor. We're trying to see if it might be a food allergy or sensitivity to something," Emma said. "So at least we're a little closer to find out what's wrong."

 Pearl smiled. "Good." She started to say something else, but she fell silent, looking up quickly with an expression of surprise. 

 Emma turned just as a tall demon woman with gray-white skin came up. She had yellow eyes and waist length dark blue hair, so dark it was almost black. She was carrying a tray loaded with fried pork chops, a baked potato and a pile of greens. There was a pin on uniform that Emma was pretty sure was the rank symbol for ‘viscount.’ "Your pardon Secondary, and Mrs. Wilson. May I sit here?" the woman asked.  

 "Of course Viscount," Pearl said, and looked a little uncomfortable--and curious.

 Emma felt curiosity as well. The dining room wasn't segregated, but demons, particularly noble-ranked ones from what she had heard, usually didn't come to the cafeteria at the same time human staff--black or white--did. When they did turn up, they usually sat together, away from any humans. "It's fine by me Viscount," Emma said, feeling a little awkward.

 "Thank you," the demon woman said with a slight smile. “I’m Investigator Embla, one of Viscount Ardath’s partners.” She sat down near Emma, and began to eat.

 Conversation was uncomfortable after that until the demon woman confessed to an interest in a radio show that Pearl also liked. They talked about radio shows and movies, while Emma mostly listened only occasionally interjecting a comment as she ate. The viscount left just before the lunch break was over and thanked them both for the conversation. “I wonder what that was about,” Pearl said once the viscount had left.

 “I don’t know,” Emma said. “Maybe she was just trying to be friendly.”

 After lunch, Emma went back to her apartment to work on tutorials. Then she went to pick up her son from the dayschool and heat up something for his dinner before making dinner for Shader and Mr. Christopher. She was just setting the dinner table when Joshua arrived with Shader, and a middle aged white man in a suit. “Emma, could you set a third place for Mister Tomlin?” Joshua asked.

 “Sorry for the non-existent notice,” Shader said.

 “Of course, it won’t be a problem at all,” Emma said and tried not to smile too much at the look Mr. Christopher was giving the demon. She usually made a little more so there would be leftovers, so it really wasn’t a problem. She set a third place at the table and retreated to the kitchen to clean up.

 From the little bits of conversation that she couldn’t help overhearing, Mr. Christopher was attempting to convince Mr. Tomlin to work with him. Mr. Tomlin seemed cautious of the offer, and occasionally a little angry about something. Emma let most of it go by without really listening to it until she heard Shader say something about Mr. Tomlin’s wife.

 “She’s doing better I guess, the medication you switched her to seems to help a lot better,” Mr. Tomlin said. “She isn’t hurting herself anymore.”

 “The protocol is almost ready for testing,” Shader was saying.

 Emma remembered Shader referring to the cure she was working on as a “protocol,” and realized that Mr. Tomlin’s wife must be a Crusader. She also realized that this was a conversation she should not be eavesdropping on, and concentrated finishing her cleanup of the kitchen and getting the pie out of the icebox.

 


End file.
